Mediterranean Kale Salad

Now that it's starting to get dark at 4:00, and there's a chill in the air, the thought of eating a cool, crisp green salad seems less and less appealing. Enter in my favorite hearty, wintry green leaf veggie, KALE. This salad gives you that fresh, raw veggie feel, with a bit more substance. Feel free to mix and match your veggies here, as well. Olives or some grated carrot might be nice. OR, switch out the edamame for roasted chickpeas or some grilled seitan.

Mediterranean Kale Salad

1/2 pound kale, veins removed, chopped

1/2 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cucumbers, chopped

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 apple, chopped

1 cup edamame, shelled

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1/4 cup marinated tofu (in the style of feta cheese)

For the DRESSING

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2  teaspoon agave nectar (or honey)

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp salt, or to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing.  Whisk well until ingredients are completely emulsified. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking: Sometimes I like to add a bit more sweetener to cut down on the “tangingess”.

Place your chopped kale in a large salad bowl. Add about a third to a half of the dressing, a little salt, and massage the kale leaves with your clean hands until the leaves start to soften and wilt, about 2-3 minutes.  Add remaining vegetables, and part of the remaining dressing, to taste. Toss to combine and serve!

Deconstructed than Re-constructed Omelet, Tofu Style

There are some days where a dish comes together from the random leftover ingredients in the fridge, and this particular Tofu Scramble is just that.  The day prior, we had treated ourselves to our favorite diner for breakfast.  Patriot's Diner in Woonsocket, Rhode Island has some of the best home fries I've even had, the service is great, and the decor is fantastic!

Now this place is far from vegan, but after going there for several years, I have settled on my old-standby: A side of home fries, which is HUUGE, and then add on the vegetable medley (broccoli, peppers, mushrooms tomatoes and onion) from the Vegetarian omelet on the side, which is equally as huge. Most of the time I bring home at least half of the dish, so the next day, I decided to make my own "Vegetarian" Omelet, Tofu Style!

I had a coupon for the Black Soybean Tofu pictured above, as well as half a package of Tofurkey Kielbasa that we had eaten the night before, dipped in mustard (YUM).

Next time we are going to serve them on crusty sub rolls with spicy mustard, but I thought the leftovers might be a nice meaty addition to the scramble.

So, scramble away!

Don't forget to add some salt, pepper, turmeric if you want it yellow (I didn't this time) and extra Nooch! Serve with Frank's RED Hot, if you dare. That's how we do it here! ^_^

Brunchin' It: Potato & Chorizo Home Fries & Tofu Scramble

After working six days in a row, having this weekend off is like a little slice of paradise! What better way to start off a lazy day, than a super huge, yummy breakfast:

Scrambled Tofu with some of my friend, Kathy's, homemade salsa:

Scrambled tofu is on the breakfast menu quite a bit in our house.  I usually use this Basic Scrambled Tofu recipe as a base, and then flavor accordingly, depending on my mood.    I've listed measurements for the spices below, but in all reality, I do the spices and seasonings "to taste".

Basic Breakfast Tofu Scramble

1 (16 ounce) package firm tofu

cooking spray

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon Dijon or yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon salt

fresh ground white pepper

1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon soy creamer , plain, unsweetened (can use almond or soy milk too)  

**The cream or milk adds a nice smooth finish, and allows the spices to coat the tofu evenly.  Especially the turmeric, which gives the scramble a nice, even yellow color

• Spray non-stick frying generously with cooking spray, and heat over medium.
• Drain the package of tofu and crumble into the pan. Cook for 3-4 mins, until tofu begins to release some of its water.
• Add the remaining ingredients (except the creamer) and mix well to combine evenly.
• Cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring regularly.
• When tofu releases most of its water, and begins to firm up, add creamer and mix well.
• Cook another 1-2 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate, then remove from heat.
• Serve with toast

Most of the time I'll leave the scramble plain, but this week, I had some yummy chorizo sausages from Viva Vegan (chipotle version!) on hand.  I knew I was going to mix the diced chorizo with some potato and onion, so I went with a bit of Mexican spice in the scramble this time.  

So, we have: Tofu Scramble base, plus some cumin, coriander, a bit more nutritional yeast, and a half cup of Kathy's home made fresh salsa (diced tomato, red, yellow and orange pepper, jalapeño and half of a habnero, red onion and lime)!

And now for the potatoes!  

I got some refined coconut oil, and was interested in trying it out.  I saw the gals on Spork Fed Foods making home fried sweet and white potatoes fried on coconut oil.  I usually use olive oil myself, but I thought this might be a nice change.  I put a bit of the coconut oil in my cast iron pan, and fried up my chorizo pieces until they were crispy, then set aside. I added another couple of tsps back to the hot pan, and tossed in about 5 red potatoes, scrubbed and diced, with their skin on and one.  Then I seasoned to taste:  italian seasoning, a bit of garlic powder, a bit more of onion powder, some cumin and coriander, cajun seasoning and paprika.  Toss potatoes with then salt and pepper to taste. 

Needless to say we were full.  And, skipped lunch... ^_^

Greek Salad With Avocado

Although far from traditional, creamy avocado adds a really nice touch to all the tanginess found in most Greek salads. I make this using my marinated tofu recipe in place of the feta cheese. Adding avocado the salad was inspired from a recipe I saw on Chuck's Day Off, MINUS the deep fried Kefalotyri cheese  cubes he put on his...

INGREDIENTS:

2 large tomatoes, cubed
2 lebanese cucumbers, cubed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup kalamata olive, pitted and halved
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cubed
4 cups romaine lettuce
1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped (oregano is nice too)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup tofu feta

DIRECTIONS:

1 Mix the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, avocado and lettuce in a large bowl with the dill, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice.
2 Add salt and pepper to taste, toss.
3 Top with marinated tofu feta

Marinated Tofu - (In the Style of Feta Cheese)

Perfect for topping a Greek-style salad, or a spinach and olive pizza! Leftover marinade makes a great base for a Greek-style salad dressing.  This recipe for tofu feta, crumbled over a gigantic salad, is Greek-girl approved**  We ate two bowls.  Thank you, L, for letting me serve you tofu on your salad ^_^

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb firm tofu, drained and pressed
4 tablespoons lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 garlic cloves, smashed but left whole
dried oregano, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste



DIRECTIONS:
1. Press the tofu between two plates, weighted down with some heavy cans or a cast iron pan, to drain the excess liquid out.
2. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
3. Whisk together the ingredients for the marinade in a large container with a lid.
4. Add the tofu to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, preferably 2-3 days.
5. Flip the container every few hours to ensure even coverage.
6. Tofu pieces can be patted dry, and crumbled over your favorite Greek-style salad or pizza.

**L is half Greek, so making her a Greek salad with TOFU as the feta was one of my BALLsy-est moves yet. I made up the salads in advance on our plates, and her first reaction was: "OH, you bought cheese!!"  "No... this is marinated tofu, BUT it's gonna be really yummy!!" 

And, it was, yay! We both ate two bowls. Plus, adding avocado makes everything better...

Bacon with a Vegan

Ok, so this weekend, I thought I'd try my hand at making my own Veggie Bacon.  I've seen countless recipes in cookbooks and on the web, and generally, there seem to be two Vegan "Camps".  Camp Tempeh, and Camp Tofu. 

So which one to make...

Although the Vegan with a Vengeance (VWAV) recipe has always been in the back of my mind, I wasn't really in a tempeh kinda "mood".  I also wasn't on the ball enough to make up the marinade ahead of time, as sometimes I am lazy...

So I found this recipe by my online cooking pal, Chef "Sharon123" over at Recipezaar!  It's made using tofu, and as an added bonus, does NOT require overnight marinating.

Let me tell you, this stuff is GOOD.  I loved the flavor of the soy sauce, liquid smoke and brown sugar SO MUCH, that I was even hesitant to add the nutritional yeast at the end, as the recipe stated.  Do yourself a favor and DON'T skip it.  The strips of fried tofu taste great with the simple marinade, but the nutritional yeast coating, sprinkled on at the end of the cooking time, totally MAKES IT!!

I nibbled on three pieces on their own, I really couldn't get enough.

But then I decided to give my tofu bacon a bit more purpose, and made this:

Tofu Baco BLT: Toasted wheat bread slathered in Veganaise, topped with leafy green lettuce, and slices of a gorgeous red tomato

And, my two favorite guys!!  Pic posted here, just cuz... ^_^